The burgeoning wine state is home to the third-largest wine region in the country, but is that something to be proud of?
By Katie Jablonski
For every established wine region in the world, specificity is everything. What makes a particular wine from a particular vineyard special? Terroir: a French concept that refers to "the taste of the place," or, how a wine's character is affected by factors of a location such as climate, varying weather, soils, proximity to water, and more. In France, the focus is on the subtle differences between the terroir of a parcel of land that resides at the top of a hill versus the bottom, or on the north or south banks of the same river. Winemakers have long emphasized the immense difference between those two areas, and how drastically it affects the taste of the wine.
Texas is about 60,000 square miles larger than France. If we can be so specific as to discuss the difference tasted in wines across a river, then we should do away with generalizing wines from an area as large as Texas. We should interrogate: Where in Texas? High Plains or Hill Country? Limestone or sandstone soil? Is the climate arid or humid? Wine regions in America are designated using the AVA, or American Viticultural Area system. AVA is defined by the US government as "a grape-growing region with specific geographic or climatic features that distinguish it from the surrounding regions, and affect how grapes are grown.” Featuring AVA's on labels allows vintners to more accurately describe the origin of their wines to consumers, and communicate the specificity of their wine. California is 163,696 square miles and has 139 AVAs, France is 210,016 square miles and has over 360 AOCs (Appellation d'origine Contrôlée: basically, the French version of an AVA), and Texas is 268,597 square miles and has only 8 AVAs.
As non-native Texans, when my husband and I first floated the idea of planting a vineyard and ultimately making wine in Texas, we received many odd looks. My husband, Ricky, is originally from Sonoma County in California, so why not make wine there? What originally excited us about Texas, versus another state, was that there was no large established region, and no singular grape had yet been identified as “the one.” It was a new frontier. It could be like being in Napa Valley during the 1960s before the region had made a name for itself. There is also a multitude of different climates in the enormous state, each offering a potentially distinct and delicious wine.
Texas is an exciting new wine region that deserves the attention of the larger wine world. To achieve that acknowledgment, vintners need to move away from the idea of "Texas wine" as a whole and instead towards showcasing the distinct regions, climates, weather, and soil types of the enormous state. Texas can do this by first creating sub-appellations within the existing wine regions, for which, the Texas Hill Country AVA would be an ideal candidate.
Within the region’s 14,062 square miles, two smaller AVAs already exist, Bell Mountain and Fredericksburg. One possible way to define more new AVAs within Hill Country could be through soil distinction. In this region, there are at least three distinct soil types. The map below only covers general soil and does not include microclimates, weather patterns, elevation, or other external factors that could affect the wine's end result. By working with Hill Country growers, the state has a great opportunity to better understand the region’s soil distinctions and develop sub-appellations based on a more comprehensive soil map. Similarly, the next largest AVA in Texas, the High Plains, also shows distinct soil types that could be easily differentiated by the creation of sub-appellations as well.
In recent years, the state has made serious adjustments to ensure the quality of wine being sold under the Texas name. The passage of House Bill 1957, which went into effect this past September, places stricter regulations on the labeling of Texas wines. HB 1957 requires any wine with a county, AVA, or
vineyard label to contain minimum percentages of grapes from that area (75% for county and 95% for vineyard). Most importantly, if any of those locations are listed, the grapes must be 100% from Texas.
While that may not sound groundbreaking, prior to this bill, grape juice could be sourced from all over Texas as well as other states. This meant the consumer could buy a bottle of “Texas wine,” which, in reality, was a blend of grapes from five different climates in Texas as well as some juice from California. Transparency is important not only so that the consumer knows what they are getting and is confident in their purchase, but also so that the winemakers have a chance to make a name for themselves and their specific grape or region. If a wine made from tempranillo grapes grown in different soils (limestone versus sandstone, for example) is allowed to be blended together and simply labeled “Texas tempranillo,” it does not allow for further investigation for the consumer and producer alike. The consumer would not be able to compare and contrast the influence of different soils on the wine, and the grower would be poorly equipped to make decisions about what to plant and where.
For a new wine region such as Texas, both of these objectives are crucial for success. Building on the success of the passage of HB 1975, Texas vintners must now take the next step by advocating for the creation of smaller AVAs that will showcase the diversity of the state and ultimately allow consumers to purchase wine based on their preferences. It is only through refining our regional designations that we can tap into the full potential of Texas viticulture.
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Katie Jablonski is a line cook living and working in far west Texas, she graduated with a Master's in Food Studies from NYU in 2022. Along with her husband, she farms a small vineyard and makes wine under the label Alta Marfa. In the little free time she has, she maintains a large garden and a flock of chickens, ducks, and the occasional turkey.